There are nine Masters events currently on the calendar, and they are restricted to just two surfaces - clay and hardcourt. For several years now fans have been calling for a grasscourt Masters to bring some variety into the ATP’s crown jewel of tournament categories, but to no avail.
Although grass is the surface on which tennis originated, in today’s world it is considered far less economically feasible than clay or hardcourt. Around 60% of all ATP level tennis tournaments are on hardcourt and around 30% on clay, with grass being confined to a small one-month window around Wimbledon.
But now Andrea Gaudenzi, who commenced his tenure as the ATP boss last year, has claimed that he is ‘positive’ about the idea of organizing a Masters event at either Queen’s Club or Halle. One of the two traditional ATP 500 events could possibly be upgraded to the status of a Masters some time in the future.
“I like the concept of a big Masters 1000 leading up to Wimbledon” - ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi
Andrea Gaudenzi further claimed that he had pitched the idea to the board as well. The Italian stressed on the appeal of having a Masters 1000 tournament as a tune-up event to Wimbledon, which currently allows very little preparation time to the players.
Andrea Gaudenzi did acknowledge, however, that the board members still have to put their heads together about the idea. Gaudenzi also suggested that the move to organize a Masters 1000 event on grass was a way to bring back ‘a big event’ to the United Kingdom; the O2 Arena in London is no longer hosting the ATP Finals, since their license ended in 2020.
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